Warning light which causes light rays to travel in a conical path



May 9, 1961 F. 1. FULLER WARNING LIGHT WH ICH CAUSES LIGHT RAYS TO TRAVEL IN A CONICAL PATH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 26. 1957 INVENTOR. Frank Fu/Aer BY ATTORNEY;

F. I. FULLER WHIC May 9, 1961 WARNING LIGHT H CAUSES LIGHT RAYS TO TRAVEL IN A CONICAL PATH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 26, 1957 m mH -hil N -I- I- HFHH INVENTOR. Frank Fufler BY WARNING LIGHT WHICH CAUSES'LIGHT RAYS "TO TRAVEL IN A CONI'CAL PATH Frank-I. Fuller, Menlo Park, Calif., assignor to Western fProgress Manufacturers, Palo Alto, Calif., 21 partnership 1 Filed Dec. 267, 1957, Set. No. 705,256

4. Claims. (Cl. 340-366) Tlhis invention relates generally to a warning light and w more particularly to a warning light of the type in which the light beam travels through a wide angle path.

In warning lights utilized in the past, the light beam from the warning light is generally very-narrow making the warning light not readily visible to one oifto the side or aboveor below the light beam. :This is particularly objectionable'when the warning lightsare utilized on cerprovide-a warning light which emits a light beam that is visible from wide angles with respect to the warning light.

Another object of the invention isv to provide a. warning light of the above character inwhich the light beam travels in a cone-like or conical path.

- Another object of the invention is to provide a warning light of the above character in which a particular type of lens is utilized to'canse the light-beam to travel at an angle with respect to the: centerline'of the warning light;

Another object of theinvention is to provide a warninglight of the above character in which the light source is rotated in a'circular path. l I I" Another object of the invention is to provide awarn- United States Patent Patented May 9, 1961 along a light source mounted on one side of the lens. The

light source is rotated ina substantially circular path about the center of the lens. The lens is of such a type that it causes the light beam emanating from the light source to travel at an angle with respect to a centerline passing through the center of the lens and generally per pendicula'r to the plane of the lens. Therefore, as the light source is rotated, the light beam travels in a cone like path. During rotation a novel band of light-appears diametrically across the face of the lens.

, The warning light disclosed in Figures 1-4 of the. draw ing consists of a lens assembly 11 mounted ona base .12.

The lens assembly consists ofa ring 13 of suitable material such as metal which is provided with annular grooves 14 on opposite sides which-accommodate lips 16 of lenses 17 mounted on' the ring; The lenses 17 are generally convex as shown. The inner surfaces of the lenses are near the outer margin of the lens. Lenses of this type" are well known and are generally described as being of the Fresnel type. When a lamp or a' light source-is located near the center of the lens, such a lens serves to condense and parallelize the light rays in both the vertical and horizontal plows. Such a lens also serves to ing light of the above character in which a band of light extends diametrically acrossgthe lens. .1

Another ,object of the invention is top'rovide a warning light of the above character in which the band of light'rotates when. the warning light is viewed from a point substantially in .line with the .centerline'of the lens and in which it rotates back and forthzbetween two positions when viewed frompan angle with respect 'to the centerline of the lens. I 1 a Another object of theinvention is to provide a Warming light of the above character which has a distinctive" andunusual appearance and which .will, therefore, serve to attractattention. 1 I a Another object of the invention is to provide a warn ing light of the abovecharacterwhich will'pnot be readily confused with other types of lights; Another object of the invention is to provide a warning light of the above character which may-be readily mounted on avehicle. Additional objects and features of theinvention will appear fromthe following descriptio'nin which the -pre-- ferred embodiment hasbeen set forth in detail in con junction with the accompanying drawing.

Referring to the drawing: t Figure l is a front elevational: view of incorporating my invention; a p

Figure 2is an enlarged crossvsectionalview taken along thelineI-ZofFigurel;

V Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3+3of-Figure2; I i f a a warning light I eliminate spherical aberration.

The lenses 17 are secured to the ring 13 by suitable means such as screws 21 which are threaded into cars 22 formed integral with the ring 13. The ring13 is also provided with a chord-like portion 23 integral therewith for a purpose hereinafter described.

A suitable source of lightsuch as an incandescent 24 having a filament 215 is disposed wi hin'the enclosure:

provided by the ring 13 and the'lenses 17.

The base 12 consists of a rectangular box 27 of suit-1 able material such as sheet metal. A cover 28 is mounted' on the box and is secured thereto by suitable means such such as screws 31 which extend into the Chord-likepor} tion23.

Suitable means is provided outside the lenses 17' for rotating the lamp 24 in a circular path about the centerline passing through the center points of the"lenses 17,

and consists of a motor 33 which is supported by brackets 34 and 36 mounted on the cover 28. i The motor drivesa Worth" 37 which drives a wormgear 38. The wormgear' is'fix ed to a shaft 39 which is rotatably mounted inaf block 41 fixed to the cover 28 by screws 42. Atubular member 43 has its lower end pivotally mounted on a pin 44 mounted olf center on the wormgear 38 The tubular member extends through an opening 46 in the cover 28- and a hole 47in the chord-like portion 23 of the ring13.

A fulcrum serves to guide the upper end of the tubular; member 43 and consists of a plate-like member 48 which is provided withan opening49 through which the tubular member extends. The plate-like member is supported: by mountingposts 51 that are secured/co the chord-like: porti0n 23 by screws52 which thread into the chord-like portion 23; a

Suitable means is provided on the upper end of the: tubular member 43 for carrying the lamp 24 such as the bayonet type, socket 53 shown. Sockets of this type are. well known and will not be described in detail. I Such; a, socket includes a center contaet tnot shown) whicheue gages a center cont-act (not shown) of the lamp. The outer base of the lamp 24 engages the socket 53 and the socket 53 is grounded to the metallic ring 13 by a con ductor 54. The center contact of the socket 53 is connected to a conductor 56 which extends into an opening 57 provided in the" tubular member 43 and up through the tubular member where itis connected to the socket 53. The other end of the conductor 56 is connected to a terminal block 58 mounted onthe cover 28. The conductor 56 is fixed to the terminal block by a screw 59. Another conductor 61 is fastened to the same point and is connected to the motor 33. The other conductor 62 of the motor is connected to ground as shown. A conductor 63 is connected to the terminal block 58 by a screw 64 and is thereby electrically connected to conductors 56; and 61. Conductor 63 is connected to a suitable source of power such as 6 or 12 volts D.C. in such a manner that conductor 63 is connected to the hot or positive side of a battery and the other side of the battery is connected to ground.

It is readily apparent that the hereinbefore described warning light can be utilized in any number of different ways. For example, it may be desired to mount the warning light on the vehicle such as the rooftop of a patrol car. In such a case,- a mounting plate 66 is fixed to the bottom wall of the box 27 by suitable means such as welding and carries a hollow stud bolt 67 which is also fixed to the mounting plate 66 by suitable means such as welding. The stud bolt 67 may extend through an opening drilled in the roof 68 of the vehicle and then secured thereto by a nut 69 threaded on the bolt 67. The conductor 63 then extends through the hollow stud bolt 67 and is connected to the conventional power supply of the vehicle such as a 12 volt battery. Since the frame of the vehicle is normally grounded, it will be readily apparent that a complete circuit will be established to the lamp 24 and themotor 33 whenever power is applied to the conductor 63. Suitable switching means (not shown) may be provided to energize the lamp 24 and the motor 33 when desired.

Operation of my warning light may now be briefly described as follows: Let it be assumed that the warning light has been mounted on the roof of a patrol car as hereinbefore described and that the switch on the patrol car has been operated to apply power to the conductor 63 to energize the motor 33- and the lamp 24. As the motor rotates, it is readily apparent that the worm 37 will cause rotation of the worm gear 38. Rotation of the worm gear 38 causes vertical movement of the tubular member 43 and rocking movement of the tubular member 43 about the fulcrum provided by the member 48. This movement of the tubular member 43 causes rotation of the lamp in a circular path about the centers of the lenses 17. The circular path through which the fiilament 25 of the lamp travels is substantially the same as the path travelled by the pin 44 carried by the worm gear 38. Thus, the filament of the lamp 24 always travels around the center and never passes through the center of the lenses 17,

Rotation of the lamp 24 in this manner between the lenses 17 causes several particularly novel effects. In the first place, it is well known that the lenses 17 which are of the Fresnel type are generally used for condensing and parallelizing the light rays to provide a very narrow beam. When the lamp is positioned in the center of such a lens, the beam emanates from the lens in a path coincident with a centerline which passes through the center of the lenses and is generally perpendicular to the planes of the lenses. However, when the lamp 24 is moved slightly away from center, it has been found that the light beams emanating from the lenses 17 travel in a direction which forms a substantial angle with the lenses such as, for example, 30". Thus, when the lamp 24 is rotated in a circular path about the centerline passing through the centers of the lenses, the light beams travel in conical paths centrally disposed with respect to the aforementioned centerline.

In this way, it is possible to provide a very bright light beam which travels in a conical path. Such a light beam has many advantages for use as a warning light as hereinafter described.

At the same time: the light beams are emanating from the lenses, a bright band of light appears diametrically across each of the lenses. An illustration of these bands of light is shown in Figures 5A and 5B. The bands 73 as shown in Figure 5A become narrower as they near the center and have a width of approximately 10 to 15. When the warning light is observedfrom apoint which is substantially in line with the centerline passing through the centers of the lenses, the bands 73 rotate on the faces of the lenses and at the same speed as the speed of rotation of the lamp 24. When the warning light is observed from an angle with respect to this same centerline of the. lenses, the band 73. rotates between two positions, the two positions being separated by an angle of approximately to These moving bright bands of light on the lenses of the warning light serve to attract attention to the warning light. They, together with the rotating beams of light emanating from each side of the warning light, serve to instantly attract attention. For example, if the warning light is mounted on a patrol car, the attention of the pursued motorist is attracted almost immediately. If the lenses are red as would be conventional on a patrol car, the motorist would be warned to come to a stop immediately. The distinctive and unusual appearance of the warning light would prevent the motorist from confusing it with other. types of lights such as flashing neon lights. The. angular beam which travels in a conical path would easily attract the attention of the motorist even though he might not be. directly in line with the centerline of the warning light.

This last feature is particularly advantageous when the warning light is mounted on certain travelling vehicles such as tractors, snow plows and the like. Such vehicles often move more slowly than conventional highway traffic and, therefore, it is imperative that the oncoming motorist be warned of the slow moving vehicle. This is particularly important if a slow moving vehicle such as a snow plow is utilized in mountainous terrain. In such cases, the approaching motorist would often be above or below, or to the side of the warning light carried by the snow plow and for that reason it is important that the beam from the warning light rotate in a path which forms wide angles with the centerline of the warning light. The attention of the approaching motorist will instantly be attracted to the bright rotating beam and if amber colored lenses are utilized, it will warn the motorist that he is approaching danger. The bright moving bands on the face of the lenses will also serve to attract the attention of the motorist.

It is apparent from the foregoing that I have provided a new and improved warning light which is particularly adaptable for use on vehicles and the like. However, it is also readily apparent that the warning light can be utilized on stationary objects to attract attention.

I claim:

1. In a warning light, a pair of Fresnel lenses facing in opposite directions, a light source mounted between said lenses and emitting light rays which pass through said lenses, said lenses having concave portions facing the light, and means for rotating said light source in a circular path about a center line passing through the centers of the lenses, said means being positioned with respect to the light source and to the lenses to permit light rays from the light source to pass unimpeded in opposite directions through said pair of lenses.

2. A warning light as in claim 1 wherein said means for rotating the light source includes a member upon which the light source is mounted, said member having a portion thereof extending out from between the lenses, and means connected to the portion of the member extending from out between the lenses for moving the memher.

3. A warning light as in claim 1 wherein said means for rotating the light source includes a member upon which the light source is mounted, a fulcrum for said member, said member having a portion thereof extending out from between the lenses, and means disposed outside of said lenses for imparting circular motion to the lower end of said member to cause a reciprocating and rocking movement of the same with respect to said fulcrum and to thereby cause rotation of said light source in a substantially circular path about a center line passing through the center of said lenses.

4. In a warning light, a ring-like member, a pair of Frwnel lenses mounted on opposite sides of said ring-like member and facing in opposite directions, said Fresnel lenses having concave portions facing the light, said ringlike members and said lenses forming an enclosure, a 20 light source disposed between said lenses and emitting light rays passing through both lenses, an elongate member carrying said light source, a fulcrumfor said elongate member disposed between the lenses, a rotatable member, the end of said elongate member remote from the light source extending out from between the lenses and being pivotally connected to the rotatable member, and motive means for rotating said rotatable member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

